Vietnam targets floating solar projects with pilot renewable tender

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
Image credit: Marcel Oosterwijk / Flickr

Vietnam’s plans to move from renewable feed-in tariffs (FiTs) to competitive auctions have now crystallised into a pilot tender, set to contract two major floating solar projects.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will back plans by the Southeast Asian state to hold this year and next tenders for up to 400MW of floating solar.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis

Photovoltaics International is now included.

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
  • Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
  • Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

Documents show the ADB is looking for six experts to support the auction, which will see IPPs bid for a 50-100MW first floating PV batch in 2020 and a 300MW second stretch in 2021.

From a floating solar specialist to environmental, social and financial experts, the six consultants that the ADB ends up choosing will carry out feasibility studies for the plant duo.

Both floating PV projects will be deployed at pre-determined sites, according to the draft plans the ADB released at the turn of the year.

The ADB’s document suggests Vietnam was, as it staged its move to tenders, keeping an eye on the competitive, low auction prices emerging all across the globe.

The draft points at tenders in Brazil, Portugal, Malaysia, India and neighbour Cambodia, specifically singling out the US$38.77/MWh tariff scored by a 60MW PV project in the latter country this year.

By contrast, the ADB argues, FiTs do not allow for “competition to drive down the cost of power” even if they can be useful in supporting renewables at earlier stages.

The tender sees ADB's ramp up its involvement in Vietnamese floating solar after moving last year to bankroll a 47.5MW project on a man-made reservoir, the work of a subsidiary of national utility EVN

 

Analysis: José Rojo, senior reporter, PV Tech

Vietnam’s singling out of floating projects for its first ever solar auction comes after the country hinted it may halt its generous solar FiT scheme, seen as the driver of grid congestion.

Payments under the first FiT round – US$9.35 cents/kWh tariffs for all segments, lasting 20 years – were linked with the bottlenecks affecting Vietnam’s high-irradiation south and southeast.

The government issued several proposals for the second FiT round in October this year, controversially ignoring storage technologies.

However, the FiT scheme’s overall fate came into question the following month, when prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said the second round might be dropped altogether. 

In an order issued in late November, the government head criticised how Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) had handled the roll-out of FiT-backed solar projects.

Citing a “massive follow-the-crowd investment into solar power development”, the prime minister urged the Ministry to learn the “lessons” and ensure future PV growth is more efficient.

Approached by this publication, local operators like Gavin Smith, vice chairman of Eurocham’s Green Growth Committee, said bankability will be a core question as Vietnam braces for a new era of renewable policy.

“The key question [with the new auctions] is how comprehensively will Vietnam de-risk its auction? Will they make the standard PPA internationally bankable or not?,” Smith said. 

See here to access Vietnam's floating PV tender documents in full

17 June 2025
Napa, USA
PV Tech has been running PV ModuleTech Conferences since 2017. PV ModuleTech USA, on 17-18 June 2025, will be our fourth PV ModulelTech conference dedicated to the U.S. utility scale solar sector. The event will gather the key stakeholders from solar developers, solar asset owners and investors, PV manufacturing, policy-making and and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out the PV module supply channels to the U.S. out to 2026 and beyond.

Read Next

December 12, 2024
Chinese solar leaders have called for an end to the toxic competition on module prices that has sent prices tumbling.
Premium
December 12, 2024
After experiencing a difficult year, China's PV equipment manufacturers need to find a better way to cooperate, writes Carrie Xiao.
December 11, 2024
Indian independent power producer Juniper Green Energy has signed a 1GW module supply deal with US module manufacturer First Solar.
December 4, 2024
Solar will form the cornerstone of Indonesia’s renewable power sector, according to forecasts made by think tank Ember Climate.
December 2, 2024
The DOC issued a list of companies on Friday (29th November) that it says are exporting solar cells to the US at prices below production costs, a practice known as “price dumping”.
November 25, 2024
Philippines president Ferdinand Marcos Jr attended as construction began on what is thought to be the world’s largest power plant to combine solar PV and battery storage.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events, Upcoming Webinars
December 18, 2024
9am GMT / 10am CET
Solar Media Events
February 4, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
February 17, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
February 26, 2025
Seattle, USA
Solar Media Events
March 11, 2025
Frankfurt, Germany